EPA Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) — via PENNVEST

Federal low-interest loan program for wastewater treatment, stormwater management, nonpoint source pollution control, and estuary protection projects. Administered in Pennsylvania by PENNVEST.

The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) is the federal government's largest dedicated financing source for water quality infrastructure. CWSRF capitalizes state revolving funds that then issue low-interest loans for an unusually broad range of eligible projects: wastewater treatment plant construction and upgrades, sewer collection system rehabilitation, combined sewer overflow correction, stormwater management and green infrastructure, nonpoint source pollution control (Section 319-eligible activities), watershed restoration and estuary protection, decentralized septic system improvements, water reuse, and energy efficiency at water facilities.Critically for watershed groups, CWSRF can fund nonpoint source projects directly — agricultural BMPs, riparian buffers, stream restoration, urban stormwater retrofits — even when the borrower is a nonprofit or conservation district rather than a traditional municipal authority. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law boosted annual allocations and added significant principal forgiveness for projects serving disadvantaged communities.In Pennsylvania, PENNVEST administers CWSRF on quarterly cycles with a strong pre-application consultation culture. Watershed groups can co-develop applications with municipal partners or, in some cases, apply directly through a fiscal sponsor.